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OTTAWA—Canadian dairy farmers say they’re concerned about Donald Trump’s “attacks” on their industry, as the U.S. president once again singles out Canada’s supply management system in an escalating trade war.

Trump took to Twitter Saturday to accuse Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being “dishonest and weak” at the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Que., where leaders discussed the U.S. decision to slap steep tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Despite the U.S. government’s justification that the tariffs were necessary for “national security,” Trump said the move was a response to “270 per cent (tariffs) on dairy” — an apparent reference to the system of quotas and tariffs that support the Canadian dairy, poultry and eggs sectors.

It is not the first time a U.S. president has taken aim at supply management, but the show of derision sent jitters through industries that benefit from the decades-old trade barriers.

Pierre Lampron, president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, criticized Trump’s logic that Canadian protections hurt American farmers.

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“Canadian dairy farmers and their families are concerned by the sustained attacks by President Trump with an aim to wiping out dairy farmers here at home,” Lampron said, adding that 10 per cent of the Canadian dairy market is open to imports without tariffs, compared with just three per cent in the U.S.

There is also some dispute over the figures Trump cited. In a bulletin to clients Monday, Scotiabank suggested it’s “disingenuous” to use the 270 per cent tariff figure to “besmirch Canada’s overall trade policies.”

“Trump is quoting a figure that applies to milk that accounts for a tiny fraction of Canada’s $33 billion of goods imported from the United States each month,” the bank wrote in its analysis.

“Better judgment would question whether an entire trading relationship needs to be jeopardized in order to appeal to dairy farmers in Wisconsin,” the statement added.

Meredith Lilly, a Carleton University professor and former trade adviser to prime minister Stephen Harper, said Trump’s very public focus on the supply management system may make it harder for the Trudeau government to consider concessions.

But Lilly pointed out that Trump’s “genuinely held” hostility towards supply management is not new — in fact, she said, the opposition was shared by former U.S. president Barack Obama.

“Having said that, tweeting about Canadian tariffs on dairy is a convenient data point for the president, because Canada’s supply management system is much different than ... virtually all other aspects of our trading relationship,” Lilly told the Star in an interview.

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“The president can’t tweet about other enormous tariffs because, for the most part, there aren’t any. That’s because of NAFTA.”

On Monday, the two major opposition parties expressed solidarity with the Trudeau government as it attempts to navigate the minefield of relations with the Trump administration.

Trudeau is scheduled to meet with the Dairy Farmers of Canada on Tuesday, while Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to appear before the U.S. Senate’s foreign relations committee on Wednesday. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue is slated to travel to Prince Edward Island on Friday, for a day’s worth of events with Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.

Robin Horel, the president of the Canadian Poultry and Eggs Processors Council, said Trump’s glare is creating nervousness in the sector. But he added that he thinks supply management is just one aspect of the broader trade discussion with the U.S.

Others in Canada have argued the system should be abolished in favour of a more free-market model. In a report last year, the Canada West Foundation argued the system has been an obstacle in trade negotiations and that it drives up the price of milk, eggs, and poultry for Canadian consumers.

The Canadian government did make concessions in supply management for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-nation free trade agreement, opening up 3.25 per cent of the domestic industry for foreign competition.

In 2016, the Canadian dairy sector was worth $6.2 billion, while the country produced $4.2 billion in poultry and eggs, according to the federal agriculture department. Canada also imports more dairy products than it sells on the international market, with a $735 million trade deficit for dairy in 2016.

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